Bomb the Music Industry! – Vacation

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While there will always be a place for bare-bones punk rock, its nice when bands do some experimenting with the genre. Thats something New York DIYers Bomb the Music Industry! (BtMI!) know well. Vacation, the groups latest full-length, is full of highly relatable lyrics and pummeling power-chord riffing, underscored by high energy and flourishes of adventurous accompaniment. Its not exactly a deviation from BtMI!s previous output, but its their most finely produced and most concentrated effort yet and shows why they boast some of the most ardent fans around.

Opener Campaign for a Better Next Weekend begins with warm, arpeggiated piano chords before slowly building to a fuzz-drenched crescendo and concluding with a bellowed, cooperative hook. The song is so strong that its hardly disappointing that everything goes slightly downhill from there. Most songs unfold the same way structurally (though the structures are typically unorthodox), but theres enough contrast so that theres never a dull moment. Think of Vacation as something like a sunnier version of Titus Andronicus The Monitor, or even HÃ¼sker DÃ¼s Zen Arcade: Its ambitious and intricate, but theres a lot to be rocked out to.

One minor complaint: Rosenstocks vocals are usually weak and self-consciously hushed, like during the first few minutes of The Shit That You Hate, or so intense that theyre almost obnoxious; he rarely finds a happy medium. Nevertheless, Vacation is an all-around solid effort, undeniably fun and would serve nicely as a soundtrack for the rest of summer. What else were you expecting from these guys?